For investigating material structures, which are buried below the surface of the object, procedures have been developed for forming and inspecting cross-sections of the object. These procedures have gained considerable importance, since they allow to inspect structural properties of manufactured semiconductor structures.
The inspection of the exposed cross-section is typically performed by using a scanning electron microscope. In alternative procedures, a sample section is prepared to form a TEM lamella. The TEM lamella is separated from the remaining sample and inserted into a transmission electron microscope (TEM) for inspection.
Applying these procedures in the field of quality assurance and process control requires a sufficiently short processing time in order to inspect an economically efficient number of samples per time interval.
This requirement becomes even more relevant, when modern semiconductor structures are to be inspected, such as multiple stacked ICs and 3D MEMS. Analyzing such semiconductor structures usually requires exposing large cross-sectional areas, which are buried deeply below the surface.
Hence, there exists a need for a system and a method, which allow detailed inspections of sample cross-sections within a short time.